As the number of coronavirus cases rises in Pakistan and fear grows that the government might impose a lockdown, the lives of citizens also underwent a rapid change with several of them flooding markets to buy daily-use items.
Lahore – the second largest city in the country where hustle bustle is common and residents enjoy going out especially on the weekends – has been witnessing a changing trend after the provincial government announced adopting pre-emptive measures in the wake of Covid-19.
Traffic on the main arteries is quite thin while superstores and retail outlets are crowded.
The government has closed all educational institutions and marriage halls across the province and banned public gatherings of more than five people in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Retail experts believe that the continuous supply of essential food and other items and a competitive atmosphere among the retail chains has kept the consumer panic level under control.
“Yes, you can say we are buying more than what we need but under the current circumstances, this measure is the need of the hour,” said Taskeen Ara, a housewife shopping in one of country’s biggest retail centres.
She is not the only one worried about the likely shortage of food items in the coming days.
“We are living in an age of mafias. Look at the prices of surgical masks, sanitisers and other things. How can we say that such shortages will not have an impact on the grocery, bakery, vegetable and baby food items in the coming days?” shopkeeper Asim Qadri remarked. “We have just come out of the wheat and sugar crises.”
“What if this epidemic [coronavirus] continues to grow and the mafias are given a chance to create artificial shortage of food, vegetable and grocery items?” he asked.
Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Irfan Iqbal Sheikh maintains that the government should not create panic and take measures to ensure non-stop supply of essential food items.
“Covid-19 is a global epidemic which has tumbled global markets. Our country will also face some music in this regard,” he said.
Sheikh is of the view that there would be some effect on the supply of essential food items as there are no imports due to closure of borders.
Many retailers believed that this is the start of panic buying, and should the situation persist, it might become a crisis which would increase the burden on global retailers.
Carrefour Pakistan country manager Jean-Marc Dumont observed that due to the concerns of the customers, an increase in the demand of hygiene products has been witnessed.
“We are actively working with our suppliers to maintain the availability and price of these [hygiene] items, and we request that our customers remain calm during these testing times,” he said.
“Most of our essential food and non-food items are sourced through local supplies, hence, we have not faced any supply issues,” Dumont added.
Meanwhile, people in the federal capital and Rawalpindi have also resorted to buying in bulk.
Anjuman-e-Tajran president Ajmal Baloch asked that the government to review the supply and demand of edible items on a daily basis and ensure availability of essential commodities.
He urged the authorities to take necessary steps against hoarders.
Riaz Khan, a manager at a local superstore in Karachi, said that sales of kitchen items have increased in the past few days.
“Normally, we witness this kind of rush in the last days of Ramadan. Hand sanitisers and surgical masks have run out,” he said.
from Gulf Times https://ift.tt/2vusFad
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